Arguably the first consistently strong album
Fleetwood Mac ever recorded -- all the way back into the
Peter Green/
Jeremy Spencer era,
the Mac's albums had previously consisted of individual moments of brilliance in a sea of uninspired filler -- 1972's
Bare Trees is also the album where the band finally defines its post-
blues musical personality. Low-key but less narcoleptically mellow than 1971's sleepy
Future Games,
Bare Trees is a
singer/songwriter album in the traditional early-'70s style, backed up with just enough musical muscle to keep from sounding like weedy
soft rock in the manner of
Bread or
Cat Stevens. This is the one
Fleetwood Mac album on which
singer/guitarist Danny Kirwan is the dominant figure, writing five songs to
Christine McVie and
Bob Welch's two apiece. Impressively, all three writers get off a small masterpiece on side two;
McVie's
"Spare Me a Little of Your Love" sounds like a dry run for the string of hits she would start writing with 1975's
Fleetwood Mac, and it's her first really good
pop song. By comparison,
Kirwan and
Welch's best songs are all-time career highlights.
Kirwan's
"Dust" combines a gentle, gliding melody with resigned, melancholy lyrics and his most memorable chorus.
Welch's
"Sentimental Lady" was, of course, his first solo hit in its 1977 re-recorded version, but this original take is far superior, and one of the great lost
pop songs of the early '70s. Outfitted with a terrific vocal melody, hooks galore, and an impressive tremolo guitar solo,
"Sentimental Lady" is perhaps a little trite lyrically, but it's a heartfelt and lovable tune regardless, and the best thing
Fleetwood Mac did in the years between
"Albatross" and
"Over My Head." The rest of the album is less magical, but the instrumental
"Sunny Side of Heaven" and the downright funky
"Danny's Chant" are impressive in their use of atmospheric arrangements and so point toward the subtle but effective production choices that would make
Fleetwood Mac and
Rumours among the most listenable albums of their time.
Bare Trees isn't in that league, but it shows that after five years of false starts and failed experiments,
Fleetwood Mac were finally on their way. ~ Stewart Mason
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